What light through yonder window breaks? - eNotes Shakespeare Quotes What light through yonder window breaks? Romeo: But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. Read on Owl Eyes This eText is now on Owl Eyes. Clicking this link will open a new window. In any Shakespeare play written more than a few years after Romeo and Juliet, these lines would be laughable; Romeo trots out some of the most clichéd fancies of the day. But the fact that an idea was tired did not necessarily mean it was presented in jest, especially in the years when formulaic sonnets were the rage. That Juliet is fairer and more brilliant than the moon is meant to be taken as Romeo's sincere belief. When Juliet appears above, on her balcony, she appears like the sun at dawn, her light overpowering the moon's merely reflected brilliance.

This is just one in a long series of metaphorical associations of Juliet with light; they begin at the masked ball [see DANCING DAYS ], when Romeo exclaims that Juliet "doth teach the torches to burn bright!" (Act 1, scene 5, 44). Later, as Romeo is about to poison himself over what he thinks is Juliet's corpse, he insists twice that all light has been extinguished. SparkNotes: Romeo and Juliet: Important Quotations Explained Important Quotations Explained But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. . . . The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars As daylight doth a lamp; her eye in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night. Romeo speaks these lines in the so-called balcony scene, when, hiding in the Capulet orchard after the feast, he sees Juliet leaning out of a high window (2.1.44–64).

Though it is late at night, Juliet’s surpassing beauty makes Romeo imagine that she is the sun, transforming the darkness into daylight. Romeo likewise personifies the moon, calling it “sick and pale with grief” at the fact that Juliet, the sun, is far brighter and more beautiful. Romeo then compares Juliet to the stars, claiming that she eclipses the stars as daylight overpowers a lamp—her eyes alone shine so bright that they will convince the birds to sing at night as if it were day. This quote is important because in addition to initiating one of the play’s most beautiful and famous sequences of poetry, it is a prime example of the light/dark motif that runs throughout the play. Many scenes in Romeo and Juliet are set either late at night or early in the morning, and Shakespeare often uses the contrast between night and day to explore opposing alternatives in a given situation. Here, Romeo imagines Juliet transforming darkness into light; later, after their wedding night, Juliet convinces Romeo momentarily that the daylight is actually night (so that he doesn’t yet have to leave her room). 2.

Deny thy father and refuse thy name, Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet. Juliet speaks these lines, perhaps the most famous in the play, in the balcony scene (2.1.74–78). Leaning out of her upstairs window, unaware that Romeo is below in the orchard, she asks why Romeo must be Romeo—why he must be a Montague, the son of her family’s greatest enemy (“wherefore” means “why,” not “where”; Juliet is not, as is often assumed, asking where Romeo is). Still unaware of Romeo’s presence, she asks him to deny his family for her love. She adds, however, that if he will not, she will deny her family in order to be with him if he merely tells her that he loves her. A major theme in Romeo and Juliet is the tension between social and family identity (represented by one’s name) and one’s inner identity. Juliet believes that love stems from one’s inner identity, and that the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets is a product of the outer identity, based only on names.

She thinks of Romeo in individual terms, and thus her love for him overrides her family’s hatred for the Montague name. She says that if Romeo were not called “Romeo” or “Montague,” he would still be the person she loves. “What’s in a name?” she asks. “That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet” (2.1.85–86). 3. O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you. . . . She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes In shape no bigger than an agate stone On the forefinger of an alderman, Drawn with a team of little atomi Athwart men’s noses as they lie asleep. Mercutio’s famous Queen Mab speech is important for the stunning quality of its poetry and for what it reveals about Mercutio’s character, but it also has some interesting thematic implications (1.4.53–59). Mercutio is trying to convince Romeo to set aside his lovesick melancholy over Rosaline and come along to the Capulet feast.

When Romeo says that he is depressed because of a dream, Mercutio launches on a lengthy, playful description of Queen Mab, the fairy who supposedly brings dreams to sleeping humans. The main point of the passage is that the dreams Queen Mab brings are directly related to the person who dreams them—lovers dream of love, soldiers of war, etc. But in the process of making this rather prosaic point Mercutio falls into a sort of wild bitterness in which he seems to see dreams as destructive and delusional. 4. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Scene 2 - What light through yonder window breaks? Explanatory Notes for Act 2, Scene 2 From Romeo and Juliet. Ed. K. Deighton. London: Macmillan. __________ Prologue 1. He jests ... wound, Mercutio, who never felt the wound of love, may well jest at the scars which Cupid's arrows have left in my heart. That this is not a general, but a particular, remark is, I think, proved by the answering rhyme, as Staunton has noticed.

And as neither the folios nor the quartos make any division of scene, such division, originally due to Rowe , seems clearly wrong. 2. soft! he bids himself 'hush,' cautions himself to talk in a lower voice. 4. envious, jealous. 7. Be not her maid, no longer serve her, no longer keep a vow to live unmarried; as Diana's votaries pledged themselves to do. 8. Her vestal ... green, the life of chastity to which she binds her priestess is one of sickly, jaundiced, hue. In sick and green there is probably, as Delius suggests, an allusion to the "green-sickness" of which Shakespeare often speaks, and which in iii. 5. 157, below, Capulet applies as an epithet to Juliet in his anger at her refusal of Paris, "Out, you green-sickness carrion! out, you baggage! You tallow-face," � an ailment of languishing girls characterized by a pale complexion. The reading of the first quarto is pale for sick, and this is preferred by many editors.

Collier would change sick into white, seeing in the line an allusion to the white and green livery formerly worn by the Court fools; but it seems unlikely that Shakespeare would use the word fools in this literal sense when referring to Juliet, while, as Grant White points out, if such an allusion were intended, it would be obtained from the reading of the first quarto, pale, without the violent change to white; vestal livery. Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth, corresponding with the Greek Hestia, and her priestesses were vowed to a life of chastity and celibacy; cp. Per. iii. 4. 10, "A vestal livery will I take me to, And never more have joy." 12. what of that? but that matters little. 13. discourses, is eloquent in its mere look. 16. some business, some private affairs of their own which would be hindered by their having to perform their nightly duty of lighting up the sky. 17. in their spheres.

According to the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, round about the earth, which was the centre of the system, were nine hollow spheres, consisting of the seven planets, the fixed stars or firmament, and the Primum Mobile; the spheres with the stars and planets in them being whirled round the earth in twenty-four hours by the driving power, the Primum Mobile. 21. the airy region, the upper air; region, was originally a division of the sky marked out by the Roman augurs. In later times the atmosphere was divided into three regions, upper, middle, and lower. Cp. also Haml. ii. 2. 509 . 24, 5. O, that ... cheek, cp. Tennyson, The Miller's Daughter, 169-186. 28. winged messenger, angel. 29. white-upturned, turned up in adoration so that the pupils are scarcely seen. 30. fall back, stand back in awe, and also in order to get a clearer view. 31. lazy-pacing, slowly drifting. Grant White compares Macb. i. 7.

21-5 ; lazy-pacing is Pope's conjecture for lasie pacing, of the first quarto; the remaining quartos and the folios give lazie, or lazy, puffing. 34. refuse, disown, disclaim; cp. T. C. iv. 5. 267, "We have had pelting wars, since you refused The Grecians' cause." 37. speak at this, answer her without allowing her to go further, interrupt her at this point. 39. Thou art ... Montague. Staunton explains "That is, as she afterwards expresses it, you would still retain all the perfections which ardorn you, were not called Montague"; and so substantially Grant White, though Dyce calls such an explanation "unintelligible." Others follow Malone in putting the comma after though, as used in the sense of however, with the explanation that Juliet is simply endeavouring to account for Romeo's being amiable and excellent though he is a Montague, to prove which she asserts that he merely bears the name, but has none of the qualities of that house.

Various emendations have also been proposed, but Staunton's explanation seems to me quite satisfactory. 42. be some other name, be somebody else in name than Montague. Lettsom objects that Shakespeare could not have written "be some other name"; but after the expression "What's Montague?", where "Montague" is used as though it were a thing, there seems no reason why we should not have "be some other name." 46. owes, owns; as frequently in Elizabethan literature, the final n of the M. E. owen, to pcssess, being dropped. The modern sense of the word 'to be in debt,' 'to be obliged,' comes from the sense of possessing another's property, but the word has no etymological connection with to 'own' = to possess; it being from the A.S. agan, to have, while the latter is from the A.S. agnian, to appropriate, claim as one's own, from agn, contracted form of agen, one's own (Skeat, Ety. Dict.). 47.

doff, put off; do off, as don, do on; dup, do up; dout, do out. 48. for thy name, in exchange for your name. 53. So stumblest on my counsel, come so unexpectedly upon my secret thouglits; cp. M. N. D. i. 1. 216, "Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet," i.e. confiding to each other our inmost thoughts. 53, 4. By a name... am, if I could let you know who I am without using a name, I would gladly do so, for it is impossible for me to name myself without distressing you. 55. saint. Delius points out that this word recalls their first meeting when, as a pilgrim, Romeo had thus greeted Juliet. 58. drunk, unconsciously acknowledging the avidity with which she had listened to his words. 61. if either thee dislike, if either be unpleasant to your ears; dislike is really impersonal, as in Oth. ii. 3. 49, "I'll do't; but it mislike's me." 64.

And the place death, and to venture here is to risk your life. 66. o'er-perch these walls, fly over these walls and settle here, as a bird settles upon a branch after a flight from some other spot; a perch is literally a rod, bar, then a bough or twig on which a bird settles. 67. stony limits, limits formed of stone, i.e. walls; stony, more commonly used as = of the nature of. 69. are no let to me, are no hindrance to me, cannot bar my way and keep me out. 71. Alack, according to Skeat, either a corruption of 'ah! lord,' or, which seems more probable, from ah! and M. E. lak, loss, failure. 73. proof against, able to endure, hold out against; see note on i. 1. 216. 76. but thou love me ... here, except, unless, you love me, I am quite willing that they should find me here and kill me; without your love, life to me is not worth living. 78. Than death ...

love, than that my death should be delayed if I am to be without your love; prorogued, the Lat. prorogare was to propose a further extension of office, lience to defer, though literally meaning only to ask publicly, from pro-, publicly, and rogare, to ask. 81. counsel, advice. 83. vast shore. "Lat. vastus, empty, waste" (Walker). 84. I would adventure for, I would make my voyage in quest of, however great the danger. 88. Fain ... form, gladly would I, if it were possible, stand on ceremony with you, treat you with distant formality; Fain, properly an adjective. 89. but farewell compliment, "but away with formality and punctilio" (Staunton); I now cast such things to the winds. 93. laughs, good-humouredly disdains to punish them. Douce compares Marlowe's translation of Ovid's Art of Love, i. 633, "For Jove himself sits in the azure skies, And laughs below at lover's perjuries," from which he thinks that Shakespeare borrowed. 94.

pronounce it faithfully, assure me of your love without adding an oath to confirm your words. 97. So, provided that. 98. fond, foolishly loving; fond, originally fonned, the past participle of the verb fonnen, to act foolishly, from the substantive fon, a fool. 99. light, full of levity, wanton. 101. more cunning ... strange, more skill in affecting coyness. 104. passion, passionate confession; the word was formerly used of any strong emotion. 106. Which the dark ... discovered, which (love) has been revealed to you by the darkness of the night whose office should be to conceal; which you have discovered thanks to the darkness of the night. 110. circled, revolving; not, I think, 'round,' as Schmidt explains. 111. likewise, equally. 113. gracious, attractive, finding favour in my eyes; cp. T. A. i. 1.

429, "if ever Tamora Were gracious in those princely eyes of thine." This is the reading of the first quarto, the other old copies giving glorious, which Grant White thinks more suitable to the context. 114.of my idolatry, that I worship. 117. I have ... to-night, I feel no joy in now ratifying with oaths a contract between us. Like Romeo, i. 4. 106-11, she has a presentiment of some evil befalling their plighted love. 118. unadvised, imprudent, formed without sufficient consideration. 121, 2. This bud of love ... meet, this new love of ours, cherished in our hearts, may expand into full growth by the time we next meet, as beneath the summer's warmth the bud expands into a beauteous blossom. as that ... breast, "as to that heart within my breast" (Delius). 126. satisfaction, Delius points out the double sense here of payment and comfort. 129. And yet ...

again, and yet I wish I had not given it, in order that I might now again have the joy of giving it. 131. frank, liberal, free of hand; cp. Lear, iii. 4. 20, "Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all." 132. the thing I have. sc. her own infinite love. 143. If that ... honourable, if your love is honourable in its intentions; for that, as a conjunctional affix, see Abb. � 287. 145. procure to come, arrange to have sent. 146. the rite, sc. of marriage. 152. By and by, in a minute, directly. 153. suit. Malone quotes from Brooke's poem, Romeus and Juliet, "and now your Juliet you beseekes To cease your sute, and suffer her to live emong her likes." 154. So thrive my soul � may my soul prosper (according as I mean well to you), the concluding words being broken off by Juliet's farewell. 156. A thousand ...

light, in answer to Juliet's wish of good-night he says, nay, not good night but bad night, night made a thousand times the worse by the absence of you who are its only light. 158. toward ... looks, sc. as schoolboys go toward, etc. 159. Hist! Listen! 159, 60. O, for ... again! would that I had a voice that would bring back my gentle Romeo as surely as the falconer's voice brings ack the tassel-gentle! "The tassel or tiercel (for so it should be spelled) is the male of the gosshawk; so called because it is a tierce or third less than the female...This species of hawk had the epithet gentle annexed to it, from the ease with which it was tamed, and its attachment to man" (Steevens). "It appears," adds Malone, "that certain hawks were considered as appropriated to certain ranks. The tercel-gentle was appropriated to the prince, and thence was chosen by Juliet as an appellation for her beloved Romeo." 161. Bondage ...

aloud, one fettered, constrained by fear of being overheard, like me, is as much unable to call aloud as one whose voice is stopped by hoarseness of the throat. 162. Else ... lies, otherwise by my loud cries I would rend the cave in which Echo dwells; Echo, an Oread who by Juno was changed into a being neither able to speak until somebody had spoken, nor to be silent when anybody had spoken. 163. And make ... mine, and, by compelling her to repeat my cries, make her hoarser than myself even. Dyce compares Comus, 208, "And airy tongues that syllable men's names On sands and shores and desert wildernesses." 166. silver-sweet, in allusion to the sweet tone of bells made of silver. 167. attending, attentive. Shakespeare Resource Center - Line Analysis: Romeo and Juliet Overview | Readings Page | Home - / - / - / - / - / But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? Romeo begins in straightforward iambic pentameter , with stresses regularly punctuating every other syllable.

As light appears at Juliet's window above, Romeo begins his metaphoric comparison of Juliet to the sunrise. The line also shows how a slight shift in the syntactic order, shifting the word "breaks" to the end of the phrase rather than directly following the subject of "light," is used to make the line better fit the meter. "But soft! what light breaks through yonder window" would have a decidedly different rhythm. - - - / - / - / - - / It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. The second line is more eccentric in its meter. It begins with a pyrrhic , which isn't such an oddity in itself, but the scansion following the mid-line caesura causes some consternation unless A) Shakespeare intended Juliet to be pronounced more like "JOOL-yet" instead of "JOOL-i-ET," or B) "is the sun" is intended as an anapest to end the line. Anyway, Romeo romantically compares the window to the eastern horizon at dawn; he hasn't seen Juliet appear yet (at least in most interpretations of the script), but, like the dim light appearing before sunrise, the light heralds her arrival.

- / / / - / - / - - / Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Like the line before, this one also contains 11 total syllables and is arguably ended by an anapest . Romeo asks Juliet to appear ("Arise, fair sun") at her window. The reference to the "envious moon" is a double entendre. First, of course the rising sun of day signifies the end of night, "killing" the moon. Second, the reference begins an extended—and occasionally risqué—metaphor that plays upon the association of the moon goddess, Diana, (or Artemis, if you prefer), with virginity. You may draw your own conclusions, therefore, as to what Romeo means by "kill the envious moon." - - - / - / - / - / Who is already sick and pale with grief, After beginning with a pyrrhic , this line starts a stretch of regular iambic pentameter . Romeo here continues the moon metaphor by alluding to the normally wan appearance of the moon in the sky and imbuing the moon (as the goddess Diana) with sadness as the reason for its pallor.

- / - / - / - / - / That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Romeo employs a double entendre on the word "maid" in this line. Maid alludes to Juliet's virginity both in its traditional denotation as a young, unmarried woman and as a servant of the moon (implying that Juliet is in the service of Diana, which would reinforce the concept). The reason that the moon is sad is that Juliet's beauty outshines hers, much as the sun's light outshines the moon. The interwoven imagery and subtext of this passage is quite remarkable under close examination. - / - / - / - / - / Be not her maid, since she is envious; Much like "kill the envious moon" above, Romeo again calls Juliet to action. This time, he reasons that Juliet need not serve the moon goddess since the moon goddess is jealous of her. It's interesting here, too, in using classic mythology as the underpinning of his metaphor, that Romeo speaks of the "envious" moon. Anyone who's ever read anything about Greek and Roman mythology knows that one didn't trifle with the vanity of goddesses. Just ask the Trojans.

- / - / - - - - / - / Her vestal livery is but sick and green Metrically, this 11-syllable line would probably scan better if written as "liv'ry." In both quarto editions and the First Folio, however, the word is spelled as if the three syllables are to be pronounced. Unless you want to stress "is" unnaturally, the most logical scansion seems to be iamb / iamb / pyrrhic / anapest / iamb . "Vestal livery" here refers to Juliet's virginity by referring to the garments of the Vestal virgins; Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth, had temples staffed by women who were bound by 30-year vows of chastity. Romeo's mention of sick and green in this line owes to the Renaissance belief that women who protractedly maintained their virginity were subject to green-sickness, so named because of a form of anemia that could affect young women (known medically as chlorosis, in which the skin actually takes on a greenish cast due to a significant hemoglobin deficiency).

Although the condition had virtually nothing to do with virginity, the "cure" was, of course, the healthy lovemaking a woman could expect within the bonds of matrimony. Obviously, medical theory of the day was dominated by men. - / - / - / - / - / And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. Romeo concludes his musings upon Juliet's chastity with a line that echoes his earlier call for Juliet to "kill the envious moon." However, here Shakespeare creates a parallelism that makes the metaphor more graphic. On the more literal level, Romeo is saying that Juliet needs to cast off her "vestal livery," which we can take as a fairly blunt wish that Juliet should doff her frock. On the figurative level, "vestal livery" represents Juliet's virginity; Romeo has designs on her doffing that as well—all in the name of preventive health, of course, as mentioned above. All this goes to prove that you can get away with saying nearly anything as long as it sounds poetic enough. - / - / - / - / - / It is my lady, O, it is my love!

This line, as syrupy as it may seem, signifies an important turn in the soliloquy. Keep in mind that Romeo, until this point, has merely been addressing a light in a window. This is the point in the speech at which Juliet actually enters the scene. Romeo is both surprised and besotted when young Juliet appears. Rhetorically, Shakespeare is using parallel repetition and alliteration to reinforce Romeo's emotion. / - - / - / O, that she knew she were! This is a strange line on many levels. In all early editions (except the First Quarto, in which the line and "It is my lady..." are omitted entirely), "It is my lady..." and this line are written together. It makes a certain amount of sense to split the line, as most editors have done, from the obvious pentameter of its predecessor, but that leaves it as a six-syllable, dangling bit of verse. As noted in the Macbeth analysis, Shakespeare doesn't generally break the pentameter in mid-speech like this, so that leaves us wondering if something happened in the transcription.

An interesting hypothesis is that perhaps Shakespeare originally had Juliet complete the line as if to herself, which might have prompted Romeo to speak his next line. - / - - / / - / - / She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Obviously something is prompting Romeo to make the comment. Whether Juliet is talking to herself or perhaps responding silently to the Nurse inside the room is a minor choice at the discretion of the director. What is germane to the scene is that Romeo supposes (or talks himself into believing for the moment) Juliet might have caught sight of him and could be attempting a conversation. - / - / - / - / - / Her eye discourses; I will answer it. You can almost feel Romeo taking a couple of steps toward the balcony at the end of this line. Although he can't hear her, he's certain that she's seen him. Discourses is a fancy way of saying "speaks" (from the Middle English discours, meaning "process of reasoning" via the Medieval Latin discursus, which means "a running about"). Romeo intends to make his presence known to Juliet.

/ - / / - / - / - / I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks: And just as quickly, Romeo realizes that Juliet is neither aware of nor speaking to him. The trochee / spondee pattern before the caesura is rhythmically heavy, which reinforces Romeo putting on the brakes, so to speak. Instead of revealing himself, Romeo will wax romantic in an extended metaphor that gets back to the initial light imagery. / - - / - / - / - / - Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, This line features a couple of Shakespeare favorites: the trochaic inversion at the beginning of the line and the feminine ending . Romeo will compare Juliet's eyes to the stars, a familiar trope that has been passed off ever since as original by teen boys the world over. / - - / - / - / - / Having some business, do entreat her eyes This line scans as straight iambic pentameter with a trochaic inversion in the first foot.

Entreat here denotes "to beseech or plead." It derives from Middle English via Anglo-French en treter ("to treat"); treter derives from the Latin verb tractare, which means "to drag about, handle, or deal with." - / - - - / - / - / To twinkle in their spheres till they return. The second foot could also easily scan as an iamb ; it's fairly subjective. Spheres refers in this instance to "the orbits in which stars move." Romeo poetically says over the course of three lines that the two most beautiful stars above should ask Juliet's eyes to fill in for them if they need to be elsewhere. / - - / - / / - - / What if her eyes were there, they in her head? Shakespeare varies the rhythm of this line with two trochees , one as the initial foot and one following the caesura . Both, as discussed in other readings, are common variants that Shakespeare used. The syntax and pronoun ambiguity can make this line seem a little more complicated than it is. All Romeo is asking, essentially, is what if her eyes traded places with those "two fairest stars" mentioned above? The comparison continues.

- / - / - / - / - / The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, ...and if Juliet's eyes traded places with the stars, Romeo reasons, then her cheek would still outshine the stars. You may have noticed by now that light imagery is a recurring theme in this speech. It's no accident; Shakespeare strikes that metaphoric note throughout Romeo and Juliet like a hammer striking a nail. - / - / - / - / - / - As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven This line is straight iambic pentameter with the extra unstressed syllable of a feminine ending . The comparative analogy of daylight and a lamp—especially given the candlepower of lamps in Shakespeare's day—remains a powerful and accessible image to the contemporary audience. Meanwhile, lest we forget poor Juliet's eyes.... - / - / - / - / - / Would through the airy region stream so bright ...while the stars are being dimmed by Juliet's cheeks, her eyes would be radiating a light throughout the heavens (airy region being a highly fanciful term for "sky"). - / - / - / - / - / That birds would sing and think it were not night.

In fact, in case you didn't get the daylight reference the first time, Romeo waxes further poetic on the subject. Juliet's eyes, were they to swap places with the stars, would turn the night into day, stirring the birds to sing. When you read the whole play, note how Romeo is subject to emotional fits of hyperbole. Then, think about your average modern teenager. Did you know that teen in Shakespeare's day was a word synonymous with vexation and misery? Perhaps the term shouldn't be considered such an archaism after all. / - - / - / - / - / See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! One can imagine Romeo coming a bit back down to earth (no pun intended) as he besottedly gazes up at Juliet posing in the moonlight. The funniest gauge of love is the rapt fascination the lovestruck have with the utterly mundane. Here we have a perfect example. / - / - - / - / - / O, that I were a glove upon that hand, Shakespeare uses a pair of trochees to stress the long vowels that start the line.

The first that basically means "if only," just as it does in "O, that she knew she were!" above (Shakespeare is abridging the common Elizabethan phrase "would that" to preserve the meter). - / - / - / That I might touch that cheek! And here is a perfect example of Shakespeare using two characters to complete a line of iambic pentameter . Although the end of Romeo's soliloquy is only six syllables, Juliet interrupts with her sigh "Ah me!" followed by Romeo's "She speaks!" Put together, the three fragments form one full line; it's usually a cue written into the text that quickens the pace and is called, unsurprisingly, a shared line. Thus begins the turn of the scene; Juliet will reveal her heart within the next few lines, and their fates will be sealed. What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks? Soliloquy Analysis You are here: Home / Shakespeare Quotes / “What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?” Soliloquy Analy...

Read the Romeo & Juliet soliloquy “What light through yonder window breaks?” below with modern English translation & analysis: Romeo & Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2, spoken by Romeo But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, ’tis not to me she speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head?

The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night. See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek! “What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?” Soliloquy Translation: A light came on in a window. Perhaps it was her! Lighting the world like the morning sun! She was the sun, so much more beautiful than the goddess of the night, the moon. As though in answer to his wishes a door opened and she came out on to a balcony. ‘It’s her!’ he whispered. ‘Oh, it’s my love.’ He wished she could know he was there, sitting on the wall, watching her. Her lips were moving but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. Anyway, she couldn’t be talking to him. As he stared at her he tried to understand how anyone could be so beautiful. It was as though the two most radiant stars in the sky had businesssomewhere else and had begged her eyes to take their place while they were away.

It was as though they had changed places and the stars were in her head, her eyes in the heavens. But even then, the beauty of her cheek would dim those eyes in the same way as daylight overwhelms a lamp. Her eyes would shine so brightly in the heavens that birds would start singing, thinking it was daytime As he watched she leant her cheek on her hand! Oh how he wished he could be a glove on that hand so that he could touch that cheek! Oh how . She sighed loudly No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet: Act 2, Scene 2 No Fear Shakespeare He jests at scars that never felt a wound. ROMEO It’s easy for someone to joke about scars if they’ve never been cut. JULIET appears in a window above JULIET enters on the balcony. 5 But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. Be not her maid since she is envious. Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it.

Cast it off! It is my lady. Oh, it is my love. Oh, that she knew she were! She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that? Her eye discourses. I will answer it.— I am too bold. 'Tis not to me she speaks. Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, Having some business, do entreat her eyes To twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars As daylight doth a lamp. Her eye in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night. See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand That I might touch that cheek! But wait, what’s that light in the window over there? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Rise up, beautiful sun, and kill the Diana is the goddess of the moon and of virginity. Romeo implies that Juliet is a servant of the moon as long as she’s a virgin. jealous moon .

The moon is already sick and pale with grief because you, Juliet, her maid, are more beautiful than she. Don’t be her maid, because she is jealous. Virginity makes her look sick and green. Only fools hold on to their virginity. Let it go. Oh, there’s my lady! Oh, it is my love. Oh, I wish she knew how much I love her. She’s talking, but she’s not saying anything. So what? Her eyes are saying something. I will answer them. I am too bold. She’s not talking to me. Two of the brightest stars in the whole sky had to go away on business, and they’re asking her eyes to twinkle in their places until they return. What if her eyes were in the sky and the stars were in her head?—The brightness of her cheeks would outshine the stars the way the sun outshines a lamp. If her eyes were in the night sky, they would shine so brightly through space that birds would start singing, thinking her light was the light of day. Look how she leans her hand on her cheek. Oh, I wish I was the glove on that hand so that I could touch that cheek.

JULIET ROMEO AND JULIET, Act 2, Scene 2 Romeo and Juliet [ROMEO comes out of hiding.] ROMEO 1. He jests at scars that never felt a wound: Romeo is commenting on Mercurio's jests at his expense, saying that Mercutio can jest about love because he's never been in love. 1 He jests at scars that never felt a wound. [JULIET appears above at a window.] 2 But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? 3 It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. 4 Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, 5 Who is already sick and pale with grief, 6. her maid: i.e., devotee of Diana, goddess of the moon, and patroness of virgins. 8. Her vestal livery is but sick and green: A "livery" is a uniform worn by the servants of a lord, "vestal" means "chaste," and "green-sickness" is an anemia that was supposed to occur in unmarried girls, because they were unmarried, and not fruitful. 6 That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

7 Be not her maid, since she is envious; 8 Her vestal livery is but sick and green 9 And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. 10 It is my lady, O, it is my love! 11 O, that she knew she were! 12 She speaks yet she says nothing; what of that? 13 Her eye discourses; I will answer it. 14 I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks. 15 Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, 16 Having some business, do entreat her eyes 17. spheres: heavenly positions. According to the astronomy of Shakespeare's time, the stars were fixed in concentric transparent spheres that revolved around the earth. 17 To twinkle in their spheres till they return. 18 What if her eyes were there, they in her head? 19 The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, 20 As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven 21. stream: shine. 21 Would through the airy region stream so bright 22 That birds would sing and think it were not night.

23 See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand! 24 O, that I were a glove upon that hand, 25 That I might touch that cheek! JULIET 25 She speaks! 26 O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art 29. white-upturned: turned upward so that the whites are visible below the irises. 27 As glorious to this night, being o'er my head 28 As is a winged messenger of heaven 29 Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes 30 Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him 31 When he bestrides the lazy puffing clouds 32 And sails upon the bosom of the air. JULIET 33. wherefore art thou Romeo?: why are you [named] Romeo [Montague]? 33 O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? 34 Deny thy father and refuse thy name; 35 Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, 36 And I'll no longer be a Capulet. ROMEO [Aside.] 37 Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?

JULIET 38 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; 39. Thou art thyself, though not a Montague: you are yourself, no matter if you are a Montague. 39 Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. 40 What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, 41 Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part 42 Belonging to a man. O, be some other name! 43 What's in a name? That which we call a rose 44 By any other name would smell as sweet; 45 So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, 46. owes: owns. 46 Retain that dear perfection which he owes 47 Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, 48 And for that name which is no part of thee 49 Take all myself. 49 I take thee at thy word. 50 Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; 51 Henceforth I never will be Romeo. JULIET 52. bescreen'd: hidden, as behind a screen. 53.

my counsel: my conversation with myself. 52 What man art thou that thus bescreen'd in night 53 So stumblest on my counsel? ROMEO 54 I know not how to tell thee who I am: 55 My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself, 56 Because it is an enemy to thee; 57 Had I it written, I would tear the word. JULIET 58 My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words 59 Of that tongue's utterance, yet I know the sound: 60 Art thou not Romeo and a Montague? ROMEO 61. if either thee dislike: if either ["Romeo" or "Montague"] displease you. 61 Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike. JULIET 62 How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore? 63 The orchard walls are high and hard to climb, 64 And the place death, considering who thou art, 65 If any of my kinsmen find thee here.

ROMEO 66 With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls; 67 For stony limits cannot hold love out, 68 And what love can do, that dares love attempt; 69 Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me. JULIET 70 If they do see thee, they will murder thee. ROMEO 71-72. there . . . swords!: In the love poetry of Shakespeare's time, it was often said that a disdainful look from the beloved lady could kill the man who loved her. 73. proof against: invulnerable to. 71 Alack, there lies more peril in thine eye 72 Than twenty of their swords! Look thou but sweet, 73 And I am proof against their enmity. JULIET 74 I would not for the world they saw thee here. ROMEO 75 I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight; 76 And but thou love me, let them find me here: 77 My life were better ended by their hate, 78.

death prorogued, wanting of thy love: death drawn out, because of lack of love from you. 78 Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love. JULIET 79 By whose direction found'st thou out this place? ROMEO 80 By love, who first did prompt me to inquire; 81. He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes: he [love] gave me inspiration and I gave him sight. 81 He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes. 82 I am no pilot; yet, wert thou as far 83 As that vast shore wash'd with the farthest sea, 84. I would adventure for such merchandise: I would take every chance for such a precious prize. 84 I would adventure for such merchandise. JULIET 85 Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, 86 Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek 87 For that which thou hast heard me speak tonight. 88. Fain: gladly. dwell on form: stay within the limits of the formalities [of courtship]. 89. compliment: convention, the expected exchange of compliments.

88 Fain would I dwell on form, fain, fain deny 89 What I have spoke, but farewell compliment! 90 Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say "Ay," 91. if thou swear'st: if you swear [that you love me]. 92. Thou mayst prove false: you may prove to be untrue [to your vow of love]. 92-93. at lovers' perjuries ... Jove laughs: they say that Jove laughs at lover's lies. 91 And I will take thy word; yet if thou swear'st, 92 Thou mayst prove false; at lovers' perjuries 93 They say, Jove laughs. O gentle Romeo, 94 If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully; 95 Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, 96 I'll frown and be perverse, and say thee nay, 97. So thou wilt woo: i.e., in order to have you woo me. 98. fond: foolish, innocent, impulsive. 99. light: wanton, flirtatious.

97 So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world. 98 In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond, 99 And therefore thou mayst think my behavior light, 100 But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true 101. those that have more coying to be strange: those who have more skill at coquetry, in order to appear standoffish [so that they will be more desirable]. 102. should have: would have. 103. ere I was ware: before I was aware [of your presence]. 101 Than those that have more coying to be strange. 102 I should have been more strange, I must confess, 103 But that thou overheard'st, ere I was ware, 104 My true love's passion; therefore pardon me, 105 And not impute this yielding to light love, 106. discovered: uncovered, revealed. 106 Which the dark night hath so discovered.

ROMEO 107 Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear 108 That tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops JULIET 109 O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, 110. changes in her circled orb: i.e., changes her course. According to the astronomy of Shakespeare's time, each heavenly body was fixed in a sphere ("circled orb"), which revolved around the earth, and those spheres were supposed to be perfect, but the sphere of the moon appeared to be highly erratic. 110 That monthly changes in her circled orb, 111 Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. ROMEO 112 What shall I swear by? JULIET 112 Do not swear at all; 113 Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, 114 Which is the god of my idolatry, 115 And I'll believe thee.

ROMEO 115 If my heart's dear love JULIET 117 I have no joy of this contract tonight: 118 It is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; 119 Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be 120 Ere one can say "It lightens." Sweet, good night! 121 This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath, 122 May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. 123 Good night, good night! as sweet repose and rest 124 Come to thy heart as that within my breast! ROMEO 125 O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied? JULIET 126 What satisfaction canst thou have tonight? ROMEO 127 The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine. JULIET 128 I gave thee mine before thou didst request it: 129 And yet I would it were to give again. ROMEO 130 Wouldst thou withdraw it? for what purpose, love?

JULIET 131 But to be frank, and give it thee again. 132 And yet I wish but for the thing I have. 133. bounty: generosity, capacity to give [love]. 133 My bounty is as boundless as the sea, 134 My love as deep; the more I give to thee, 135 The more I have, for both are infinite. [Nurse calls within.] 150 I come, anon.But if thou mean'st not well, 151 I do beseech thee Nurse [Within] JULIET 151. By and by: immediately. 152. strife: striving, endeavor [to woo me]. my grief: my grief [at losing your true love]. 151 By and by, I come: 152 To cease thy strife, and leave me to my grief: 153 Tomorrow will I send. ROMEO 153 So thrive my soul JULIET 154 A thousand times good night! [Exit, above.] 155 A thousand times the worse, to want thy light.

156 Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books, 157 But love from love, toward school with heavy looks. Enter JULIET, again [above]. JULIET 158. Hist: Juliet is trying to get Romeo's attention without making a lot of noise. 159. tassel-gentle: tercel-gentle; male falcon. 161-162. Else . . . mine: Or else I would tear open Echo's cave, and make her voice fill the air with a sound more insistent than mine. 158 Hist! Romeo, hist! O, for a falconer's voice, 159 To lure this tassel-gentle back again! 160 Bondage is hoarse, and may not speak aloud; 161 Else would I tear the cave where Echo lies, 162 And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine, 163 With repetition of my Romeo's name. Romeo! ROMEO 181 So loving-jealous of his liberty. ROMEO 182 I would I were thy bird.

JULIET 182 Sweet, so would I: 183 Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing. 184 Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow, 185 That I shall say good night till it be morrow. [Exit above.] 186 Sleep dwell upon thine eyes, peace in thy breast! 187 Would I were sleep and peace, so sweet to rest! 188. ghostly sire: spiritual father, confessor. close: narrow. 189. dear hap: good fortune. 188 Hence will I to my ghostly sire's close cell, 189 His help to crave, and my dear hap to tell. Exit. Romeo and Juliet Glossary - But, soft! what light through yonder breaks Romeo and Juliet: Balcony Scene Glossary But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks...cast it off. (2.2.3-10) But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. (2.2.3-10) In this passage Romeo uses an intricate conceit to express a simple desire: to take Juliet's virginity. Romeo begins by saying that the envious moon, i.e., Diana, goddess of the moon and patron of virgins, is jealous of her servant's (Juliet's) radiance. He then begs Juliet to be Diana�s maid no longer; for the virginal uniform (vestal livery) she wears as a follower of Diana is sickly green in color, and not to remove it (i.e., to remain a virgin) would be foolish. The phrase sick and green was hotly debated among early scholars, because of a discrepancy among the printed versions of the play.

In the first quarto of Romeo and Juliet (1597), the line reads pale and green, which invites a new explanation of the lines, Her vestal livery is but sick and green/And none but fools do wear it. Some editors charge the compositors of the subsequent quartos and the First Folio (where it appears as sick and green) with carelessness, convinced that Shakespeare intended pale and green not to mean the green sickness of anaemia (as is described three lines above), but to mean the colors of the uniform worn by Henry VIII's court jester � white and green. Thus, her vestal livery is the garb of a fool. In the play Romeo and Juliet who says "But, soft! What light through wonder window breaks"? What literary device isused? | eNotes In the play Romeo and Juliet who says "But, soft! What light through wonder window breaks"? What literary device isused? mstinson | High School Teacher | (Level 2) Adjunct Educator Posted on April 3, 2007 at 10:12 AM If you want to know just about the line you quote, "But soft!

What light through yonder window breaks?" Romeo is personifying the light and giving it the power to break through the window. This light is actually the candle light and you are to assume it is the light that is also illuminating Juliet as she emerges onto the balcony. Romeo then states, "It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!" "It" refers to the balcony, therefore the balcony symbolizes an eastern land (eastern also representing the exotic) and Juliet is the sun that is rising out of the east, or literaly walks out onto the balcony (remember, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west). Shakespeare uses light and dark images to symbolize good and evil. Juliet, being the brightest object, the sun, represents the best of all good things. like 1 dislike 0

Question: Which Shakespearian character said ‘But soft, what light through yonder window breaks’?
Answer: Romeo